Monday, 17 April 2017

Quintain's Fulton Quarter Masterplan - can we save some more "Wembley Lions"?

Guest post by Philip Grant

In a blog last week (LINK) ) Martin drew our attention to Quintain's latest consultation on the redevelopment of the "Fulton Quarter" at Wembley Park. This includes the former Fountain TV Studios, whose fascinating story I wrote a guest blog about when it closed last December (LINK)

Although Wembley has lost a fantastic high-tech business, there is something from our local heritage which can be saved when the studio building is demolished. Two lion head architectural ornaments, from the British Empire Exhibition building which was converted to film studios in 1928, were preserved when that building was demolished in 1989. They were re-used to embellish the walls outside a new entrance to the remaining "Studio 5", which became Fountain TV.

The lion was the emblem for the BEE, and it was adopted as a popular symbol for Wembley itself, with both the stadium's speedway team (from 1929) and the arena's ice hockey team (from 1934) known as the "Wembley Lions". Through Wembley History Society, I worked with Brent Council and Quintain to put one concrete lion head (from the Palace of Industry building) on permanent public display in 2014, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the British Empire Exhibition.

Now I am hoping to persuade Quintain to recycle the two "Wembley Lions" from Fountain Studios, as part of their landscaping plans for the Fulton Quarter. As well as providing an attractive feature in the public spaces which the proposed development promises, this would help to share the stories of Wembley Park and the Wembley Park Studios with future residents and visitors.

I hope that Martin will be able to put a copy of my comments document (submitted to Quintain's consultation) below, so that you can read what I have in mind, if you are interested. If you think my suggestion is a good one, please send your own "comments" on the Fulton Quarter Masterplan, including your support for Philip Grant's ideas for incorporating the BEE / Fountain TV lions into the landscaping scheme, to Quintain at the consultation email address: info@wembleypark.com . Thank you.

4 comments:

I support you Philip 100% in retaining our heritage, however I feel it will fall on deaf ears in light of all the other planning apps in Quintains bag. Sad to say there is no Wembley Park any longer. Wembley is now a concrete urban jungle.

Thank you for your comment. There are people within Quintain who are keen to promote Wembley Park's heritage (even if some in the company only see it as a marketing tool).

I believe that they can be persuaded to make use of the two lion heads, as a "feature" in the landscaping for the Fulton Quarter, particularly if those interested in keeping Wembley's heritage alive make their support for the idea known as part of the current consultation. I know that several Wembley History Society members and former Fountain TV staff are already getting behind these suggestions.

I heard back from Quintain's Head of Planning this morning, to say that he will review my comments with the design team, including their landscape architect. He assures me that 'where ever possible Quintain seek to use local heritage references in our proposals.'

Although it may only make a small improvement to Quintain's 'concrete urban jungle', I am confident that in this case, with the help of you and other "Wembley Matters" readers, we can make the 'possible' a reality.

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